May 10, 2013 - Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks a Voice

Today
is billed as a day to work on “Conservation you can sink your teeth
into”!

The
people at Whale Times and the Shark Research Institute want you to
know that sharks are far less man-eaters than they are victims of
humans. Did you know that people kill around 100 million sharks every
single year? That means more than 11,000 per hour! Many of these
sharks are killed just for their fins!

These
organizations want to stop finning—the practice of removing a
shark's fin and returning the rest of the shark to the ocean, where
it usually has a rather slow and painful death of suffocation (unless
it is eaten by a predator). Some countries, such as the U.S., have
banned finning, but the practice continues and is legal in most cases
because it has not been banned worldwide.

One
reason that finning continues is because shark fins can be worth a
lot of money. Just one bowl of shark-fin soup can sell for as much as
$150! And a single fin can be worth up to 20 THOUSAND dollars!
Yi-i-ikes!

Why
do people want shark fins so much that they would pay this kind of
money? Shark fins are a traditional cure in some cultures, and a book
called Sharks Don't Get Cancer became a best seller and
convinced many people that shark fin can cure or maybe even prevent
cancer. However, there is no scientific evidence that shark fin is
effective at treating or preventing ANY illness. Also, the idea that
sharks don't get cancer is just wrong! Sharks can be afflicted with
42 different sorts of cancers!

In
some ecosystems, shark populations have dropped 75% to 90% because of
finning. Check out the Fintastic Friday website for ideas of
how to help save sharks.

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This site is designed to be a source of interesting articles for kids and a resource for teachers and parents (especially homeschool teacher/parents!). From world holidays to historical anniversaries, Every Day Is Special celebrates each and every day.